As any home owner will attest, security is an area of primary concern. Due to the fact that people tend to place a high value on their property and personal safety, the marketplace has responded with a variety of products that are intended to protect one's life and property. A recent addition to these types of products are those that alert others to possible falls, dangers or medical conditions for those who live on their own and may be elderly or disabled. While these products work most of the time, they do require action on the part of the home dweller to activate in an emergency. This requirement is of an ironic nature since it is assumed that the person is incapable of helping themselves in the first place. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which elderly or disabled people living on their own can be provided with assistance during emergency situations without requiring action on their part. The development of the invention herein described fulfills this need.
The present invention is an automatic alerting system for incapacitated individuals which audibly signal neighbors when a house or building door has not been opened in the previous twenty-four (24) hours. The system utilizes a series of door contacts arranged in a parallel connection on all exterior doors of a home, apartment or similar structure. The door contacts then switch power to a resettable twenty-four (24) hour timer. Should the timer not be reset within a twenty-four (24) hour period, it will then apply power to an audible alerting device and a visual alerting device, both located on an exterior surface of a dwelling. The audible alerting device and the visual alerting device are intended to alert neighbors, passer-bys, motorists, delivery personnel, mail persons, and others who are in the vicinity of the dwelling that a possible emergency situation exists on the inside of the dwelling. The present invention is equipped with a battery backup for operation during a power failure, and a vacation interrupt switch which disables the system during planned sessions of absence. The use of the present invention provides a means for tracking activities of elderly or disabled people who live on their own in an automatic yet discrete manner which helps address possible medical emergencies.
Several attempts have been made in the past to provide alerting systems for incapacitated individuals. U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,058, issued in the name of McMinn et al., describes an illuminated house light display that provides a visual warning signal to guide summoned emergency personnel. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,507, issued in the name of Leighton et al., is a telephone activated emergency light system. However, unlike the present invention, the McMinn and the Leighton systems are activated by dialing a numeric emergency sequence on a telephone.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,636,263 and 5,991,363, both issued in the name of Thomson, disclose a high-intensity light emitting diode that is activated by an emergency service dispatcher over a telephone line used by a person who telephones for emergency help. The Thomson apparatus assures that emergency personnel will quickly and easily find the emergency site when they arrive in the general location. However, unlike the present invention, the Thomson systems are activated over a telephone line.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,373, issued in the name of Phillips, discloses an emergency strobe light system that flashes to alert rescue personnel when a radio frequency signal is transmitted to a telephone interface. However, unlike the present invention, the Phillips system is activated when the dialing of an emergency number has been detected by one of the telephone interfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,950,018, issued in the name of Merrell et al., discloses an alarm system comprising at least one wireless alarm transmitter, at least one wireless activate transmitter, and at least one wireless signal receiver. However, unlike the present invention, the Merrell system displays a text message alarm to alert hearing impaired people of hazardous conditions.
None of the prior art particularly describes an automatic alerting system for incapacitated individuals which audibly signals neighbors when a house or building door has not been opened in the previous twenty-four (24) hours and that does not require action on the individuals part that the instant invention possesses. Accordingly, there exists a need for an alerting system by which elderly or disable people living on their own can be provided with assistance during emergency situations without requiring action on their part that operates without the disadvantages as described above.